Bearded jax

Bearded jax
Biological classification
Classification	Feline
Subspecies	Mammoth bearded jax Psychotic jax
Races	Blooming jax Blushing jax Bounding jax Fuzzy jax Pouncing jax
Physical characteristics
Hair color	White in the wild; varied when domesticated
Eye color	Yellow
Distinctions	Beards
Sociocultural characteristics
Homeworld	Endor Rori
Diet	Herbivore

"My little daughter's beloved bearded jax was killed by some sort of wild beast recently. The darling just won't be consoled until those horrible pests are disposed of. Do you think you could do this for me?"

―Parent of a grief-stricken daughter

The bearded jax, or jax for short, was a small species of herbivorous felines found in the wilds of the forest moon of Endor and Naboo's moon of Rori. One of their most distinguishing features was a beard protruding from the creature's chin. Beast masters were able to domesticate the bearded jax as personal companions. Holographic depictions of the bearded jax were also stored on data cubes, allowing them to be projected as holopets. Their meat could also be cooked and consumed as sustenance. The mammoth bearded jax was a subspecies of jax notable for its considerably larger size. Bioengineers were also capable of using the DNA of the bearded jax to incubate mutated variants known as psychotic jax.

Biology and appearance

	Bearded jax vocalization (info · help)
	The distinctive purr of a bearded jax

The herbivorous species of felines known as the bearded jax was found in the wilds of the forest moon of Endor and Naboo's moon of Rori. However, determining which species were truly indigenous to Rori was a matter of debate. A group of jax was referred to as a pride. The mammalian vertebrates had a bristly white hide while in the wild, but when domesticated, their hides could come in a variety of different hues, including shades of red, yellow and blue. Distinguishing features of the bearded jax included a prominent beard protruding from their chins, pointed ears, and a long tail with a tuft of hair at the end. The quadrupedal creatures also had small, cat-like paws and yellow eyes. When vocalizing, they would emit a trill purring noise. When under attack, the bearded jax would bite and claw back to defend themselves. There were evidently a number of different breeds of bearded jax, such as the blooming jax, blushing jax, bounding jax, and pouncing jax, each of which resided on Endor. Another type referred to as fuzzy jax inhabited Rori. However, each of these breeds, or types of jax were virtually indistinguishable to one another in size, appearance, and behavior. On the other hand, there was a considerably larger subspecies of the jax called the mammoth bearded jax, also found on Rori. The bearded jax shared something of a physical resemblance to the kimas of Talus, however kimas were canines rather than felines. To a similar degree, the feline species of kittles were comparable to the bearded jax in terms of size and overall body shape.

History

Bearded jax could be domesticated by beast masters as personal companions or house pets. During the time of the Galactic Civil War between the Galactic Empire and the Alliance to Restore the Republic, a wild beast killed a girl's beloved bearded jax, rendering her inconsolable. In order to alleviate her grief, one of her parents sought to hire a spacer to eliminate the pests responsible for killing the jax. An officer of the Corellia-based gang of criminals known as the Meatlumps also kept a bearded jax named Comet in a cage, while a rancher on Rori kept a number of domesticated jax in a fenced off enclosure. Holographic depictions of the bearded jax were storable on data cubes, allowing them to be projected as holopets in homes and other buildings across the galaxy. Using DNA from the bearded jax, bioengineers were capable of incubating mutated variants of the creature known as psychotic jax. These mutated jax exhibited a more intimidating appearance, including sharp, pointed teeth, longer claws, a spiked head, and a more vibrantly colored hide. Bearded jax could also be cooked and consumed as sustenance. In 1 ABY, a written document titled Essential Cooking Skills detailed guidelines on how to best cook a bearded jax. In this document, a setting of 250 degrees for a half hour was the recommended criteria, depending on the calibration of the cooking instruments.

Behind the scenes

A bearded jax holopet

Bearded jax first appeared as creatures in the 2003 video game Star Wars Galaxies: An Empire Divided, a massively multiplayer online role-playing game developed by Sony Online Entertainment and published by LucasArts, prior to its closure on December 15, 2011. In addition to the mammoth bearded jax, there also existed other named types of jax, including the blooming jax, blushing jax, bounding jax, and pouncing jax of Endor, and the fuzzy jax of Rori. However, each of these jax were virtually identical in size and appearance to a typical bearded jax, so it is not clear to what extent they should be considered separate breeds, or if they were merely descriptive names for different types of the same creature.

Early in the game's lifespan, dynamically spawned non-player characters offered a variety of simple missions. In one case, NPCs could offer a destroy mission titled "Console Little Angel," the storyline of which featured a bearded jax. The mission required the player to destroy creatures at an assigned waypoint in exchange for a credit reward. A mission terminal quest titled "Daughter's Beloved Bearded Jax" offered a similar quest with the exact same storyline. Elsewhere in the game, a Data Storage Unit document titled Essential Cooking Skills detailed recommended instructions on how to best cook a bearded jax.

With the release of Star Wars Galaxies, bearded jax could be tamed as pets by players who pursued the creature handler profession. Following the release of Publish 25's New Game Enhancements on November 15, 2005, creature handlers were removed. However, with the release of Chapter 6: Masters of the Wild on May 22, 2007, beast masters were added as an expertise path, allowing players to incubate creatures as pets. With the release of Chapter 4: "Armed and Ready for Action!" on November 30, 2004, bearded jax holopets were made available to players as decorative art.

Appearances

• Star Wars Galaxies: An Empire Divided (First appearance)

Sources

A psychotic jax

• Star Wars Galaxies: An Empire Divided: Prima's Official Strategy Guide
• Star Wars Galaxies: An Empire Divided Quick Reference Guide
• Star Wars Galaxies: Jump to Lightspeed: Prima Official Game Guide
• Star Wars Galaxies: The Total Experience: Prima Official Game Guide
• Star Wars Galaxies: The Complete Guide: Prima Official Game Guide
• Star Wars Galaxies: The Complete Online Adventures bonus DVD
• Holopets on the official Star Wars Galaxies website (content now obsolete; backup link)
• The Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia (Picture only) (Appears in hologram)
• Friday Feature – Pet'tastic Friends! on the official Star Wars Galaxies website (content now obsolete; backup link)

Notes and references

When domesticated, a bearded jax's hide could come in a variety of different hues.

External links

Concept art for a herbivore resembling the bearded jax

• Bearded jax on SWG Pets
• Bearded jax on the SWG Wiki
• Bearded jax on SWGANH Wiki